


A Lonely 20 Years

by BillCipher666, Zoe_Nightshade_Rules



Series: Moonlit Night Universe One-Shots [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst?, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:07:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24164098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BillCipher666/pseuds/BillCipher666, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zoe_Nightshade_Rules/pseuds/Zoe_Nightshade_Rules
Summary: How Artemis reacted to the death of her closest companion...
Relationships: Artemis/Zoë Nightshade (Percy Jackson)
Series: Moonlit Night Universe One-Shots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1743889
Comments: 3
Kudos: 63





	A Lonely 20 Years

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to join our (Zoë_Nightshade_Rules/BillCipher666) fanfiction discord sever leave a comment and I'll post the link

Athena found Artemis in her palace, curled up on a bed that seemed much too big for the goddess. Artemis was folded around a pillow and her small form shuddering, bright silver light flickered under her skin. Athena cursed herself for not coming to her half-sister’s aid, she had noticed that the goddess had slipped out of the room at the beginning of the celebrations. Only instead of following after her, she stayed to talk to her daughter, reasoning that her sister would want some alone time to cope with the loss. Her sister was in the middle of the bed, the comforter kicked to the bottom, and pillows threw haphazardly on the bed. Artemis was dressed in grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt, her hair out of its usually tight braid.

Athena silently walked around the bed, folding the jeans and parka and placed them on the nearby dresser. If Artemis noticed her, she made a move to greet her.

“I don’t need your pity,” Artemis mumbled, her voice was muffled by the pillow in her clutches, her voice was scratchy and raw. 

“I know,” Athena said, sitting hesitantly next to her sister. 

“Thalia?” Artemis asked after a moment of silence. Athena winced, the new lieutenant had gone looking for Artemis a few minutes after she disappeared.

“Apollo’s bringing her back to Camp,” Athena put her hand on the goddess’s back, rubbing soothing circles into the content of the shirt.

“She’s dead,” Artemis whispered, curling even further into the pillow like it was her lifeline. Athena had a sneaking suspicion that it’s the hunters.

Athena shushes her sister as the cries got louder and the sobs leave her gasping for air that she didn’t need and left her shaking like a leaf in the wind. The goddess of wisdom sighs and changed into clothing similar to her hurting friend and curled around the distraught goddess.

“She’s gone,” Artemis whispered again, and then again, over and over like a mantra, Athena barely hears the broken whispers through the pillow. Athena’s eyes are watery as she pulls her sister tight against her.

Athena murmured reassurances into her ear, while the goddess wept into her pillow, hiccuping and sniffling. The cries slowly turned to whimpers and then whimpered into silence as the goddess succumbed to sleep.

That night the moon is a dull grey, a dull grey that barely illuminated the sky. The grey wasn’t the grey that occupied Athena’s eyes, nor the silver that sat on the lieutenant’s forehead. It was a grey that appeared when you got your white sneaker dirty too many times, the color that could have once been black but had been worn too much and was now threadbare. 

… 

The next night Apollo is the one to comfort his twin, appearing at the door of the bedroom. His sister sits on the bed, back facing the door, and still huddled around the pillow. Apollo knocked against the wooden trim. 

“Go away.”

“Come on Artemis,” Apollo tried, but he knew not to step a foot into the room.

“You let her die, you knew about the prophecy, but you let her go anyways,” Artemis growled, turning to face her brother. She threw her best glare at the god, face red and puffy, tears stained on her face. 

“You know I can’t interfere!” Apollo cried, his heart cried with his sister, seeing her like this was just as painful as losing one of his loved ones. He couldn’t imagine the pain Artemis was going through.

“Does two thousand years mean nothing to you?” Artemis yelled, tears welling up in her eyes again, “You could’ve warned us.”

“What would you do Artemis? Not let her out of your sight? Keep her on Olympus like a prisoner?”

“I wouldn’t have left her! I would have brought her with me when I went hunting! She knew something was wrong, she warned me, but I ignored her,” Artemis cried, turning back around to shover her face into the pillow. 

“Oh Arty,” Apollo whispered, his sister blamed herself for her death. He took a hesitant step towards the grieving goddess, then another and another when he wasn’t zapped to the other side of the world. He trapped her in a hug, she kicked and punched trying desperately to escape her twin brother’s grasp. He held her tightly until she wore herself out, slumping against the man. 

That night the moon was an angry grey, almost uncanny to Athena’s eyes.

… 

Artemis returned to her hunter a few days later, she nearly ran back to her palace when she saw the despair in their eyes. She had to explain that their leader had died, that their new sister had died. Then she had to tell them that she’d chosen a new lieutenant, Thalia, who was a nervous mess and fiddled with the new silver circlet. 

She tried to smile through it, to not cry, to not lose control. The hunters congratulated Thalia on the position, told her that Zoё would have been proud and that Thalia was a good choice. Artemis sat to the side and watched, a smile on her face, although she was sure it looked more like a grimace. 

… 

They left camp, traveling throughout the country with no actual destination. It’s the first time in a long time somebody sleeps in the Lieutenant tent, Artemis is just glad that it was finally being put to good use. 

… 

Apollo checked in on her every so often, appearing in the middle of the camp. The first time it happened, her hunters scattered, some ran off into the woods, others retreated to their tents. Apollo seemed unaffected by the suddenly empty clearing, instead, he marched up to Thalia and asked where his sister was. Thalia pointed to the tent and went back to fletching her arrows. 

Apollo had burst into the tent, where Artemis was planning where to go next and asked her if she was okay. He left a few minutes later, nodding to the hunters before leaving, it left the majority of them confused, he hadn’t flirted with a single one of them and there hadn’t even been yelling between the two siblings. The next few times warranted the same reaction from the hunters. Around the fifth time it happened, they just pointed to the tent and continued on with their work. 

The times he showed up became less and less often until it was rare. Artemis thinks that Thalia is in contact with him because whenever she feels even slightly moppy, her brother shows up. 

At first, she’s annoyed, she is a grown god, she can take care of herself. Eventually, the feeling of annoyance turns to acceptance. She may or may not enjoy it when Apollo shows up, he takes her mind off of Zoё and she appreciates the company of someone who has lived as long as her. 

… 

Whenever Artemis missed Zoё to much, she takes one of her parkas or sweatshirts and wears it. Sometimes she even tricks herself, imagining that it’s the lieutenant’s arms around Artemis, that the warmth gathering in the jacket is her warmth. Sometimes, when the ache in her heart gets too painful, she slips on one of the sweatshirts and curls up underneath the furs.

It happened to be one of these times that Apollo burst into her tent, which she has grown accustomed to over the past few months. The tent flap billows behind him slightly, and she can see the worried faces of the Hunters behind him, trying to see what’s wrong with her goddess.

“Get up, you’ve been in here for two days, it’s time to go,” Apollo said, walking towards his sister.

Artemis groaned in response, burrowing further into the warmth of the blankets. She missed Zoё, she missed her laugh, her warmth, and her smiles. 

“You’re worrying your hunters,” Apollo continued, pulling the furs from her sister’s body, hoping to every known power that she had pants on.

“Leave me alone, I’ll be out in a bit,” Artemis growled, making a grab for the furs. 

“You were doing fine, what changed?” Apollo argued, hands on his hips. 

Artemis didn’t answer, instead, she turned her back to her twin, acting like a child.

“Artemis,” Apollo tried again, his voice going up, making it sound more like a whine, “Artemis, Artemis, Artemis,” he poked her side every time she said her name.

“I. Just. Miss. Her,” Artemis grit out, slapping her brother’s hand away while her eyes filled with tears. Apollo stopped his poking, immediately feeling sorry for pestering her. Artemis let a few tears drop when Apollo hugged her from behind, she snuggled in deeper. She just needed contact, she needed to know she wasn’t the only one affected by Zoё’s sudden death.

Apollo left a few hours later, Artemis followed after him, seemingly better. She was dressed and her hair was braided. She announced that they were going hunting, the hunters cheered, glad that their matriarch was feeling better.

… 

After Kronos was put back to sleep, Artemis pulled Hades aside and away from the celebrations. She asked the elder god about Zoё, not able to hold back anymore. It turned out she’d made it through to Elysium, despite being judged for a long time. ‘She served by her mistresses side for over 2000 years, they didn’t know where to put her,’ Hades had explained. Artemis asked how she was doing and if she met any of the old hunters.

“Artemis, just ask me the question,” Hades sighed, he knew why she was there.

“Can I see her?” Artemis asked bashfully, she was well aware of her and Hades relationship, she was good friends with both the king and queen of the underworld, she hoped it might help the case. Her eyes were on the floor and she was shifting nervously.

“You know I can’t,” Hades apologized, Artemis opened her mouth to protest but Hades held up a hand, “If I were to do this for you, I would have to let Apollo see his lovers and Zeus one of his lovers. Soon everybody on Olympus would be asking.”

Artemis nodded, but her shoulders slumped in defeat, “I see,” Artemis agreed dejectedly, already turning to leave the room.

“Wait,” Hades called out after his niece, hand out like he was going to grab the younger goddess. Persephone would never forgive him if he didn’t give Artemis  _ something _ , “You can write one letter.”

Artemis was hugging Hades a millisecond later, smiling brighter than Apollo himself and trying to crush Hades lungs, “thank you, thank you, thank you!” Artemis whispered, squeezing tighter as if to punctuate her excitement.

“You deserve,” Hades gasped out, awkwardly patting the goddess’s back, “Bring me the letter during the winter solstice, yes?”

“Yes sir!” Artemis gave him a mock salute. She started to leave again before stopping and rushing to give him a wet kiss on the cheek before running off again.

“Don’t tell anyone!” Hades called after her retreating figure.

. . .

It was was December 21st, 2009, the day of the winter solstice, and the day Zoё died. Artemis sat in her throne, shifting uncomfortably, unsure of how to feel. She was excited to send Zoё the letter, but it was the day she had died, the day that Artemis lost her closest companion. The letter was tucked safely away inside her parka. With Hera being captured and saved only that day, the gods roman and greek aspect waring with each other, it was causing quite the problem, but Artemis was determined. She sat through the council meeting, trying to subdue her headache as her siblings fought and her uncle and father squabbled.

Hermes approached her when the meeting adjourned, flickering once between himself and Mercury. Hermes was easier to deal with, didn’t insist on trading. His caduceus was in full form, meaning George and Martha were wiggling and chatting up a storm, furthering her headache. 

“Artemis, I’ve got a letter for you from Hades,” Hermes started, pulling the letter from thin air - Artemis was just glad Martha wasn’t spitting it up.

Artemis grabbed the letter from his fingers, recognizing the swooping and curling letter in an instant, this wasn’t apart of the deal, “Thanks,” She whispered quietly, slipping the paper into her jacket next to her own note.

“Hades told me you have something for me?” Hermes askes, foot-tapping rapidly against the marble floor.

“Oh, yes,” Artemis nodded in understanding, pulling the message out and handing it to the impatient god. It was only one page, both sides had been filled to the brim but Artemis felt if she put too many words, it would seem forced, “Sorry, I thought Hades would send one of him messengers to collect it.”

“S’fine,” Hermes muttered, watching as the parchment went up in flames as he muttered a quick prayer to Hades, “Why’re you getting a letter from him anyway?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Artemis shifted from foot to foot, she never really held long conversations with Hermes, he was a bit too much like her brother, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to find out,” Artemis excused herself. She went to the side of the throne room, hoping to find a bit of privacy. 

Her finger fumbled with the seal, ripping the grey was before she could properly look at it. The mistake was quickly forgotten when she pulled the letter out, it was two pages long and was covered in Zoё’s neat handwriting. Artemis felt a smile take hold of her features, Zoё had written to her!

. . .

Artemis was helping one of the newer hunters, Winda, with her form, correcting her stance and how she held the bow when the iris message appeared in front of them. Winda, a mortal who’d only been in the hunt for a couple of months now, let out a shriek at the sudden intrusion.

“Sorry Winda,” Thalia’s voice came from the other side, the mist trying to form a coherent picture for them. 

“Thalia?” Artemis asked something must have gone wrong for the hunter to be calling her already.

“Hey, so, you guys are gonna want to come here,” Thalia said as she came into view, she seemed flustered, confused and excited all at once, an uneasy smile upon her face.

“Is something wrong?”

“Not necessarily wrong, but definitely something.”

“And you need us to come to camp?”

“Not need,” Thalia paused, pondering her next words, “But you guys should definitely come.”

“Is it an emergency?”

“What’s your definition of an emergency…?”

Artemis sighed at Thalia’s antics, if this kept up, she wasn’t going to get anything from the girl, “Do I need to be there now? We’re around 50 miles off of Camp Jupiter.”

“Oh, no you can run here, ‘sides, Reyna isn’t done grilling them,” Thalia laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck, a trait she’d picked up from Percy, “Good? Good, we’re agreed, see you in a few hours!” With that Thalia brought her hand up and cut the connection. Artemis cursed her lieutenant and called for the girls to break camp, they had to go to Camp Jupiter.

**Author's Note:**

> This is from the same 'universe' as a larger fanfic that I'm writing with my friend. It has hints of Zartemis in it however they are not tagged yet, the relationship will eventually become more present, but in the beginning, it only hints at it. I wrote this because I can't shove this relationship in the reader's faces, however, I do plan on writing more one-shots correlating with a couple of scenes that are 'unimportant' in the main fanfiction. If you'd like to read it, it's called Moonlit Night by myself and BillCipherGirl 666
> 
> Thanks for reading! If you have any criticism or notice any errors in the one-shot, please comment, I didn't have anyone read over it.
> 
> -Zoe


End file.
